


Released From Double Life

by JaseekaDarkblade2020



Category: Original Work
Genre: Allegory Of The Cave Interpretation, Bad Weather, Denial, Depression, Dreams, Dreams and Nightmares, Dreams vs. Reality, Gen, Giving Up, I Wrote This In My Philosophy Class As A Junior, Life Lessons, Loneliness, Misunderstood, Poor Life Choices, Realization, References to Depression, Sarcasm, Self-Denial, Some Swearing, Symbolism, The Truth is Out There, Visions in dreams, allegory of the cave
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-22
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2021-02-17 23:16:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21518059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaseekaDarkblade2020/pseuds/JaseekaDarkblade2020
Summary: I made this story based on the allegory of the cave. Hope you all enjoy this!
Kudos: 2





	Released From Double Life

I gasped as I woke up from my intense nightmares. I couldn’t believe that I could dream something as horrendous as what I just dreamt. I shivered the more I thought about it.

But I guess it didn’t matter.

I got up from bed and entered the bathroom. The more I thought about my nightmares, the more I felt cold inside. I also began to learn from them, and I didn’t even know why. It’s like they were warning me about something. 

I decided to skip showering that day. I wasn’t ready to go to work, or anywhere today. I just wanted to stay home and rest, and forget about the nightmares. Forget about real life. Forget that I am an adult, remember that I was a kid with a much simpler life, and just live happy… and live alone…

Without realizing, I fell right back asleep whilst sitting on the toilet lid. I had no clue that I could sleep that easily. Sleep away the nightmares and real life. Who ever knew? Who even cares? Well, I do... I guess.

I opened my eyes, and around me looked colorful. I was in the middle of a forest.

‘How did I get here?’ Here we go. My mind asks me the same question every time. This time doesn’t seem to be different. But of course, my dreamy mind-like state never remembers that fact. So it just goes along with what it gives itself. Weird.

Then, a rainstorm striked nearby. It got closer, closer and closer. My dream, of course, always was great at making me look like an idiot. I just stood there and waited for the storm to hit me, or even kill me. But… there was a few changes… hmm.

I finally broke out of my frozen stance, and fled from the storm. I dodged every lightning bolt that dared to strike me, and I dived into a cave. What I saw in the cave, was actually completely different. It wasn’t pitch black like all of those other times. It contained all of my family members, neighbors, even some random citizens I have never met before in my entire life. My brain began to hurt, but the dream, or nightmare, I can’t tell at this point, continued on its course.

Once I exited the cave, there was a bright sun shining straight into my eyes. I blocked my eyes with both hands as I moved forward. I inched more and more until I accidentally bumped into a thick tree branch. On the branch, I saw a small but thick caterpillar slithering along the edge. Its head moved upwards, as if it was looking at the sun, then it swiftly went back to work. It ate a lot of leaves in its path, and it grew and grew. It prepared many other things as well, but I began to lose interest as I continued on into the forest, completely missing the point of the sun and the caterpillar.

As I breathed in the fresh air, I forcefully ended up waking up from a loud noise.

“Shh! Sparky! You gave me quite the scare!” I snapped at my pet dog as he jumped onto my chest and licked my face off.

As my dog didn’t know how to leave me alone, I began to think hard about what happened in my dream. Why was it different from the others? And… why was it so much more clear in my mind than all those other times? Were things really changing for me, or was I just going insane? Either way, something felt different that day.

Explanation was not a choice. I could only move onto my work day. Crap! It was already noontime as I sped to the work building in my car. My eyelids felt baggy as I entered the building, knowing things weren’t going to be easy at this rate. This was all my fault. To be honest though, I could’ve just stayed home. But this was real life. I couldn’t do that, or even think of trying. In my dream, however, I would’ve stayed home. Geez, was this why I slept all the time? So I could escape my reality and start doing things that I would want to do? Or what my brain would want to do, some things I never thought I would want to do? That could’ve been it.

My boss berated me as I merely took it with an empty expression. I never seemed to have felt alive anymore. Now was definitely one of those times. I swore to myself that I cared for my life, that I cared about the things I did on a daily basis. No matter how many times I thought that, I still felt empty… hopeless even.

...But, why?

That question never seemed to be answered when I was awake.

As I sat at my computer desk, looked at the screen with slumped shoulders, and saw shadows upon shadows of coworkers doing their daily routines behind me.

If this was my reality… then I would want to sleep all the time.

Am I even alive, or awake?

_ Shut up! Your questions don’t matter, just get on with your work! _

_ No one cares about your silly questions. No one even cares about  _ **_you_ ** _. So just shut your trap and get going. _

Geez, my mind  _ hates _ me, at least, sometimes. Now was one of those times.

Whenever I got stuck on a question, my mind would berate me even more.

_ Hey, idiot. Wake the fuck up! Work! Work! WORK!!! _

“NO! I do not want to work anymore! Just shut the hell up and leave me alone!” The people are real around me. Their shadows explain that fact. Their reactions to me shouting at myself are even more real. So why didn’t I feel the same way?

“What is going on over there?” I heard my boss sigh in exasperation as he proceeded towards my area. Once he looked into my eyes, everyone else lost interest.

“Why are you screaming at yourself?” When I didn’t answer him, he lost it. “Do you think this is all a joke? Do you really think that you can get away with this immature act of yours? Huh? Answer me!”

“What do you want me to say!? I feel as if nothing is real! I feel as if my life is nothing important to anyone, or even to me! I constantly sleep all the time at home so I can escape this hell of a reality! Sometimes I don’t even know who I truly am!” I gasped, letting out all of what was inside of my head since the very beginning of me turning 18 years old and finding my first job. Yes. These thoughts were stuck in my head for that long. I am 25 now. But no one cares about that, so I’ll just continue on.

“Mr. Smith,” My boss sighed. “Everyone gets those feelings and emotions for a while. We all do. But this is your life choice, this is really happening. You  _ cannot _ let your mind distract you from what’s really going on.  _ Maybe _ you shouldn’t sleep so much. Maybe that is what is causing problems for you. But just remember this: All that matters right now is that you either focus on your work like a mature worker would, and pay attention to your future life, or lose focus, get fired and lose everything.”

“Sir, am I really awake?” I wondered.

“Mr. Smith! What did I just tell you!?  _ Do not let your mind distract you from what’s really going on. _ And if you can’t even do that today, then you’re not fit to work here. So, what’s it going to be?”

“...” I couldn’t even control myself at that moment. It’s like someone took my voice. Like someone was punishing me, turning me into a mute because I spoke too much.

My boss groaned, then he muttered, “I really think you need some rest, Mr. Smith. Say some goodbyes to your partners, and leave. You can come back here when you are ready to focus on real life again.”

“How long, sir?”

“If it ends up being more than a week, you are immediately going to get fired from your job, so I suggest you stand up for yourself sooner than later, okay? Good luck.”

Once again, the dream reappeared. The usual happened: Standing in the forest, looking at everything in utter amazement, then… wait… is that a tornado I see? That is new! I really ran for my life that time, and reentered the cave. The cave was the same as last time. People I knew and others I didn’t know about. Their conversations seemed to be more clear and actually understandable instead of muffled.

I listened, and some of them said, “Where do you have to go today?”

“Oh, the usual places.”

“... Oh.”

“What are you doing tonight?”

“Everything that you would do at night.”

“Haha. Well, I am watching a movie.”

“Wow, very fun. Can I join?”

“Maybe our new visitor would want to join us?”

Wait, do they actually notice me? That’s new.

And no, I wouldn’t even join them in a million years.

Why wouldn’t I? I couldn’t find any answers yet.

“Hey! You interested in watching a movie?”

“... No.”

Wait… I can talk? I usually couldn’t. Why the sudden interest in wanting to talk now?

Goddamn, the answers should be obvious!

“Sorry guys, I have to leave now.” I said to them without thinking, and left the cave in a flash.

As usual, the sun blinded me as I inched more and more towards the branch blindly. I bumped into it. But instead of a caterpillar, there was a chrysalis hanging.

‘What does all of this mean?’ I thought to myself. My brain hurt ten times worse in this dream. And something else was beginning to hurt too.

Before I could look at it one more time, I woke up from my full bladder freaking out. I scrambled to the bathroom, and relieved myself. Well, it’s a plus that my dog didn’t bother me this time.

As I flushed the toilet, I thought about what I dreamt. It was easy to figure out, but I was still being a blind idiot and tried to move on with my life. I still was confused about reality. My reality. And I also knew that something was very off, but I didn’t worry about it too much at the same time.

It made no sense.

This time, I took a shower.

But I still remained at home.

How long had it been? Three days? A couple weeks? Oh yeah, I could only be gone for a week until my boss would fire me. So it had been three days so far.

My phone rang. I picked it up. My boss’ voice filled my ear. He said if I stayed for four more days, I would immediately lose my job, or even my whole lifestyle altogether. I feared for my future. For once, I felt something. Something  _ real _ . Then, it’s like my body began to work all over again as my brain said,  _ sleep, sleep, sleep. All you need to do is sleep for one more night, and you will find your answers. I swear to you, it will work. _

So I waited impatiently for the day to end. It did, even though it felt like years, and I slept in my bed. My dog, Sparky, watched me as I slowly fell asleep.

For the last time, the dream began like it always had. I stood in the forest… and I think I knew why it always looked beautiful in the beginning. My mind wanted to believe that everything was safe, everything was alright. That was not true, of course. But I still believed that everything was fine.

Instead of a tornado coming after me, it was a hurricane! The weather was merely getting worse! I hid into the cave, and the people were still there, but they looked more empty, more ominous. They looked more… controlled than ever before. It terrified me. I didn’t feel safe in the cave no more. Things were too much the same, but at the same time, they felt too different.

“Hey, the outsider is here!” Yes, their voices sounded just as empty as they looked. That was to be expected. I felt like I was going to shit myself.

“Do you think he’d want to play games?”

“How about we can go partying?”

“Could we pig out on food?”

“Can he really join us either way?”

“ _ We want him so bad _ .”

That was when I lost it. Half of those people were my family, and I couldn’t even trust them in my own dream! I fled from the cave. This time, I wasn’t blind when first coming out of the cave. I could see everything the moment the sun hit my eyes. The branch was still there, and I didn’t bump into it this time.

I saw the most beautiful butterfly ever. It sat on the edge of the branch, and it looked up to the sun. I finally obliged and looked at the sun as well. It wasn’t so hurtful to think anymore, or even look at the sun. Everything seemed more open. I knew now. I knew why everything was so different. I was waking up from my usual life. I knew what was true now. My family were traitors. They never understood me. They remained blind from the truth, even when I was awake, they never changed one bit. It hurt me to think about that, everytime. My neighbors were the same way because when I tried to explain to them that everything they saw was not true, they immediately avoided me and thought I was crazy. Maybe I was crazy. But at least I knew the truth that immediate moment.

The butterfly looked right at me. I could’ve sworn I thought I saw it smile at me, but it flew away before I could make sure. It flew towards the sun. Then, I woke up with a warm feeling inside.

I felt awake for real.

I sat up, stretched and yawned as my dog jumped onto my lap once more, and licked my face til I thought it was going to fall off. I actually  _ laughed _ as I pet Sparky roughly as he wouldn’t even stop for breath while licking me. I realized that my dog didn’t think of me as crazy. He will always be a great friend to me.

I stood from the bed, actually straightened out the blankets, and I washed myself in the shower. Mind you, I didn’t do it just once, I did it  _ twice _ .

I never beamed so much when I walked out to my car with my keys in my left hand. My neighbors looked at me incredulously, but I didn’t pay any mind to them. They would never understand me. So why should they care?

I drove to work with a new confidence spreading to my brain.

“Today, I am going to work really hard, sir. I promise you that much.” I muttered to myself so I knew what to say to him when I choose to go into the building.

And I did. I entered the double doors as all of my coworkers and my boss saw me walk in confidently. My coworkers smiled. They were glad I came back. They were glad I woke up. They were glad I felt better than ever before. My boss smiled and pat my shoulder. My stomach didn’t have butterflies anymore. After all, one did get sent free in my dream, and I did as well by waking up.

This was a new beginning, for real.

“Mr. Smith! Welcome back.”

The Cave: The neighborhood, Mr. Smith’s house, and the cave in the dream.

The Artifacts: The forest, the cave, and the people in the cave.

Shadows: The shadows of the coworkers.

The Light Of The Sun: The sun and the butterfly in the dream.

The Outside World: His home and the workplace.

The Other Prisoners: His family members, neighbors, and others in the dream.

The Escaped Prisoner: Mr. Smith.

Escaped Prisoner’s Companions: Sparky, the boss, and the coworkers.


End file.
